Oakdale Now
by Noa-Pearl
Summary: The CSI's deal with a serial killer, that leaves notes that have clues in it that constantly lead to his next victim. Read inside for more. CSI/As The World Turns crossover.
1. Prologue

_Note: Hi everyone, here's a new story. __It's a CSI/As The World Turns crossover. If you don't like the other show, please give this story a chance, perhaps you'll like it anyway. Let me know what you think of it, (constructive!) criticism is always welcome. I hope you enjoy it! xx. _

_Note 2: I'll have to explain a little something about Oakdale's residents. The relationships the people have will be clear in this story, but for the die-hard ATWT fans; I know not everything fits in place and time. Like Dusty and Emily being together because Emily had never left Oakdale, Carly and Jack being together, etc. But I wanted certain couples to be together in this story, so certain storylines will probably be forgotten or somewhat re-written in a different way than it happened on television._

_Summary: The CSI's have been dealing with a serial killer; someone who leaves notes after each murder, what constantly has a clue in it that leads to the next victim, that is murdered three weeks later. After the sixth victim, Catherine and Gil discover the next murder will probably take place in a little town called Oakdale. Jim decides to sent the two to Oakdale, to observate the people and to try to find the killer before it's too late for one of Oakdale's residents. During their stay, Catherine and Gil meet several persons that become their friends, and Gil and Catherine realise their stay in Oakdale is getting more complicated and yet more fun every single day._

**It's been a while since I've been 'round there,**

**and my stay will probably give people a scare.  
It's a little town in Minnesota, a place I've always liked.  
It's Minnesota's 82th county, but what place will it be?**

**Maplewood is close, but Landfall and North St. Paul's are even closer?**

**Where will it be, where will it be?  
All you know, is I'll give them a scare.**

Catherine looked at Gil in disbelief. The two were standing to next to the sixth victim of their newest case; a serial killer that left freaky notes after all his killing, that could lead to the next victim. This one wasn't more unusual as the others were, but it started to get on Catherine's nerves. "I'm going crazy over this guy, Gil. He's insane! Why is he going to move to another county, another state?" Gil shrugged. "Let's find out what Minnesota's 82th county is, and what's near Maplewood, Landfall and North St. Paul. That has to lead us to the next place he's going."

After Catherine and Gil returned from their crime scene, they quickly found Oakdale was the only place the note could've described. The two discussed their thoughts with Jim. "Grissom, Catherine. We don't know anything about this man. Or woman. We don't know if his notes are actual clues or just random things to lead us to the wrong way. We can inform the Oakdale police department, but we can't just go there and wait until someone gets murdered with our entire team. We've got more to do." Catherine disagreed. "But Jim, we háve to go there. If we find that guy before he kills, there won't be any other victims." Jim shook his head. "Catherine, we can't sent all six of you there." "Then let me go there. I don't care if you sent Nick with me, or Gil, or Sara, or Warrick, or Greg! But I want to make sure there is no one else that gets hurt."

Four hours later, Catherine and Grissom were on their way to the airport to travel to Oakdale, Minnesota. Grissom was still suprised Jim gave in to Catherine's request to go to Oakdale and observe the people. Jim decided to call the Oakdale police department, and got on the phone with a man called Jack Snyder. He explained the situation and faxed all documents they had about their serial killer. Jack deliberated the case with his co-worker, Margo Hughes, and they decided it would be safer if Catherine and Grissom would come and help them out. After an hour of talking and deliberating, they'd come to the conclusion that Grissom and Catherine would become Oakdale's newest residents. No one would find out about their job as CSI's, and they would be undercover. Margo and Jack would give them the information they needed and they would constantly be in contact with Margo, Jack and Jim. The whole story had been figured out; Catherine and Gil would be newlyweds, moving to a new place to start a new life.

*

Emily Stewart walked around the neighbourhood, eating her icecream while she was thinking about the complex things that were taking place in her life at this point. She kept thinking about the events that had been taking place the last couple of hours. Dusty and her were a couple. Dusty Donovan was in love with her. Both were willing to give their heart to they other while both were vulnerable. Emily knew Dusty was still grieving over the sudden death of his wife, Jennifer, but Emily knew he was also willing to give their relationship a chance. He loved her, it was as simple as that. Both knew it was a little more complex than that, but they loved each other enough to just give it a shot. Emily started smiling immidiately when she heard her phone ringing and heard Dusty's voice on the other side of the line. Dusty quickly asked her where she was, and Emily told him she was near Carly and Jack Snyder's house. Dusty told her to wait there. He would be there in less than a minute.

It took Dusty a little longer than a minute to arrive at the place Emily'd told him, but Emily forgave him when she saw his boyish smile on his face and his pretty blue eyes sparkling. Dusty greeted her with a quick but loving kiss while rubbing gently over her rump. "So, what's with your sudden change of plans to meet me here instead of the Lakeview?", Emily asked him. Dusty just shrugged. "I wanted to walk there with you bye my side." Without saying another word, he pulled her close to him and the two of them headed for the Lakeview. After they'd passed Carly and Jack's house, they discovered the cute little house nearby Jack and Carly's place had been sold. Both were suprised to see it; it had been a while since new residents had arrived in Oakdale. When they passed the house, a pretty, strawberry blonde came walking out of the house, heading for the boxes that were standing in front of the house. She greeted Dusty and Emily friendly. Emily and Dusty greeted the woman as well, then walked along again, still holding each other tight.

*

Catherine was suprised about the silence near their house. There weren't a lot of people near their place, the couple that had just passed their house had been the only people she'd seen so far. Catherine grabbed two boxes, filled with clothes and books, and carried them inside. When she entered the house and put the boxes down, she yelled: "Gil! Are you helping me or am I supposed to do this by myself?". Gil trudged downstair while murmering: "You sound like you're my wife," and headed for the boxes that were standing in front of their house. Catherine sighed and quickly grabbed a glass of water. It was a hot, summer day in Oakdale and it was defenitely too muggy to do all this moving. After the phonecalls they'd shared with detective Jack Snyder, Jack had arranged the two could live in a house near his. That way, it would easy to stay in touch with Jack and they lived in a nice place. Jack would come bye with his wife Carly and would introduce the kids to Gil and Catherine. Jack assured Catherine his wife Carly would probably make some cookies or muffins or anything else, and had promised Catherine and Gil he would put the files about Oakdale's residents in the box with the food. That way, they immidiately had their information about everyone in Oakdale. Catherine was wondering what these weeks were heading to and if she would be able to make friends here. She was positive though, that it was her and Gils' mission to find the serial killer before it would be too late.


	2. 1

_Note: Hi everyone, sorry for the delay. My computer's crashed, so I lost all my files. I'm trying to catch up with everything asap. Anyway, here's the next chapter of this story. I hope you enjoy it, and please, let me know what you think of it._

**1.**

**  
**When Emily and Dusty arrived at the Lakeview for dinner, they ran into Vienna Hyatt and Henry Coleman. It still suprised Emily the two were still a couple. Vienna and Henry were heading for their room when they bumped into Emily and Dusty, whom were heading for Dusty's room to order roomservice. Vienna and Henry were to well-known people in Oakdale; Vienna for being the pretty woman she was, who turned out to be a lot different than everyone had expected, and Henry for... Well, being Henry. Emily had been very good friends with Henry for a time. Their relation had cooled down a lot though, so after a simple 'hello', they went their own ways again.

It was almost four in the afternoon when Catherine heard her doorbell ring and opened her door, to find a handsome man and a pretty, blonde woman standing next to him, smiling widly at her. The woman started talking. "Hi, I'm Carly Snyder, and this is my husband Jack. We live around the corner and we saw you two moving in today so we decided to bring you a little something." The woman handed Catherine a basket that smelled delicious, and Catherine accepted the gift while Carly gave her a hand. So, this was mister Jack Snyder. Catherine had to admit he was very good looking, and he seemed very nice. She was pleased about the fact that Jack knew his wife so well since his wife had handed her a basket full of homemade things. It smelled delicious, but the files in it were more important. "That's very nice of you, thank you so much. So you live around the corner, just the two of you together?" Catherine asked curiously. Carly nodded and Jack introduced himself to Catherine. "Hi, I'm Jack. Are you very busy, we can always come back later if you like." Catherine shook her head. "No, no. We just finished unpacking our stuff." Grissom came walking down the stairs and Catherine called him and introduced him. After a short talk about Oakdale and a quick look in Catherine and Gil's house, Jack told his wife it was time to leave. The kids would be home soon. Catherine was happy to know Jack and Carly had kids; that way it would be a little less quiet. It made her think about Lindsey though, who was sleeping at her sister's house. She already missed her daughter terribly.

When Carly and Jack walked back to their house, Carly started talking about the new family in town immidiately. "They seem like nice people, Jack." Jack nodded. "I wonder if they have kids," Carly continued, "perhaps someone to play with for Sage." Jack smiled and asked his wife: "Honey, have you seen any children or toys in that house?" Carly shrugged. "I don't know, Jack. I'll ask Catherine later. Perhaps I can go and have dinner with her some time. She seems like a very nice person." Jack nodded, and the two started walking a little faster when they saw their three children, Sage, Parker and JJ standing in front of their house. Sage came running towards her mother immidiately when she saw her and yelled: "Mommy! Where were you and daddy? We've been waiting here for hours!" "Don't exaggerate Sage, we've been here for less than five minutes," her older brother Parker responded. Jack opened the front door and the family walked in, and JJ said: "Mom... What are we having for dinner?"

Meanwhile, their neighbours were looking through the files that were hidden in Carly's basket full with food. It included a little photograph of each citizen, along with random information and the times they were arrested and for what. After Catherine had been through a couple of files, she sighed and said: "Wow, is there anyone in this town without a track record? Even Carly has been arrested. A lot." Gil shrugged while Catherine said: "I would've never thought something like that about her." Gil didn't answer. Catherine was used to him being quiet, but he had been talking very less since they'd arrived here. She hoped it would change a bit very soon. If not, she was probably out of the house very often. But that would be businnes she would deal with later. For now, she had to look through those files. It would be a little complicated to meet new people from now on though. She would know every single person's name already and even more, some stuff they probably wouldn't like for her to know. It was her job though. Catherine was suprised when she saw the file of the man she'd seen that morning. Dusty Donovan. Catherine thought he was cute. Too bad he was already taken though. Catherine wasn't used to her role, she already noticed it. Her role was to be Gil's loving wife. Not a flirty, single, fourty-something woman.

Meanwhile, Dusty and Emily were ordering roomservice in the Lakeview. Dusty wanted to give Emily something special, and ordered champagne, strawberries and melted chocolate. It was probably a little ordinair, but he knew Emily would like it. They'd been through a lot lately. After Emily'd found out he'd slept with her sister, Alison, Dusty had thought things would've been over between them. Dusty had been broken when he'd seen the look on Emily's face after she'd found out. He couldn't describe how happy he was about her giving him another chance. And he wouldn't blow it this time.

Meanwhile, there were a lot of different things going on at the Snyder farm. It was the farm were Jack's mother, Emma, lived, along with her son Holden, his wife Lily, their kids and her daughter Meg. Lately, Meg wasn't home often though. She'd been in the Lakeview most of the time, spending time with her boyfriend Paul Ryan. Today, Meg had been home all day though. She was in her room, lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. After she'd been forced the stop her job as a nurse, she hadn't been having a job. It wasn't necessary at the moment, but Meg wanted to make her own money and had been searching for a job ever since the day she'd been fired. Today she hadn't been out of bed though. Her boyfriend Paul had been having visions again. It was kinda hard to believe for people whom hadn't had anything to do with those spiritual things, but after certain events, Meg believed Paul had visions about the future. Most of the time, they were very vague, but the one Paul had had the night before, had been perfectly clear for both of them. Paul had seen himself, his hands covered with blood and a knife lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Afterwards, he'd seen a hand with a ring. And it had been perfectly clear that hand had been Craig Montgomery's.

Catherine had been walking around town after she'd finished reading the files. On top of the files, she'd found a note, written bye Margo Hughes. It said her or Gil had to come to the policestation that same afternoon, to talk about the serial killer. Margo had said one of them should come around five in the afternoon, so Catherine was on her way to the police station. When she walked in, she looked around the small building to see if she could possibly find someone of whom she thought it could be Margo Hughes. She was saved by a woman that walked to her, and introduced herself as Margo Hughes. She was about as tall as Catherine, with red hair 'till her shoulders. They went to a private room and after they sat down, Margo started talking. "We've been reading all the files about the serial killer, but we can't find any similarities between the victims." Catherine sighed and nodded. "We know. We're trying to find similarities between them for a long time now, but there isn't anything that connects all the people. Nothing in their past, not their work, their age, their looks... Absolutely nothing. It seems like he's just killing random people." Margo nodded. "It's going to be hard to find a killer here." Catherine nodded and said: "We have less than three weeks... I don't want him to make any more victims." Margo flipped through the files again and said: "The only clue you've found about the killer so far is a little bit of hair, a shoeprint and a cap, right." Catherine nodded. "We've run the DNA through KODIS, but we didn't get a hit, and the cap wasn't having any fingerprints on it, only a little bit of sand, but no particular kind of sand, just sand you buy in stores for a playground or for your garden. And his shoesize, it's a size eleven. But there are thousands of men with shoe size eleven. We don't know a thing about this guy."

When Catherine arrived back home around seven, she was suprised to find dinner on their kitchen table. "Gil, have you been cooking?" He smiled and said: "Yes, I did. I figured I had to practice for my role as loving husband. And what's nicer for a woman to come home and find dinner on the table, made by her loving husband."

It wasn't akward at all when Catherine stepped into bed that evening, lying next to Gil. They'd been friends for such a long time now, and Catherine had gotten used to lying next to him. For Gil, it was a little more difficult to stay as cool as he was. Catherine was a gorgeous woman, and he was just a man. When her body touched his, he felt a little electric shock going through his body. He turned her back towards her, and just prayed he would fall asleep very quick.

_Note: Liked it, hated it? Let me know, button's just below! x._


	3. 2

_Note: So, next chapter's up. I still hope you enjoy it as much as I do writing. If there's anything you'd like to see happening in the story, have any constructive criticism or anything else you want me to know, please let me and give this story a review or send me a message. Please enjoy! x._

**2.**

The next morning, Emily woke up early, lying in Dusty's arms with their hands strangled. She was so happy, being with him was like a gift from heaven. When Emily opened her eyes, she saw Dusty staring at her. She smiled when he gave her a kiss and then said: "What are you looking at?" "You. You're kinda cute when you're asleep." Emily smiled at him and turned around again to lie down. While she stroke his bare chest gently, she said: "What are your plans for today?" Dusty shrugged and said: "Staying in bed with you." Emily laughed and said: "I actually had plans to meet my mother and Alison for breakfast. You can come along, if you like?" Dusty kissed her on her forehead and said: "I think I'll just stay here and do some businnes. I'll go with you to your mother next time." Emily smiled and nodded. After her mother, Susan, had found out about Dusty sleeping with Alison, Susan had been having a hard time believing Dusty. She'd rather seen Emily quitting her relationship with Dusty, but Emily loved him too much to let him slip away. She knew Dusty still wasn't too keen on Susan after certain words she'd been throwing at him though, so she understood Dusty wasn't that enthousiast to join her. So she would go to her mother and sister on her own.

Meanwhile, Gil woke up in an empty bed and saw it was half past ten. With his sleepy head, he walked downstairs to the kitchen, and found a note on the fridge: "Hi Gil, I went to do some shopping. Jack left a letter for you, it's on the table. I'll be back soon. Love, Cath." Gil smiled when he read the note, and while he made some coffee, he read Jack's letter. It said Catherine could take a job at the police station as a secretary, for three days in the week. In that way, she would be working on their case, without anyone suspecting them to do something like that. Jack stated their real jobs had to stay secrets, no matter what, and that they would probably find a job for Gil soon. If not, they had to make up a story about Gil having a burn-out, or anything else. Jack also said Catherine should give him a call that afternoon to talk about the "job". Gil wrote himself a note about Jack's letter, and then poured himself a cup of coffee.

In the mean time, Catherine hadn't reached the store yet. She decided to get a cup of coffee to go at Al's Diner. When she got there though, she decided to sit down at one of the tables and take a chance to relax and think for a little while. When she just sat down with her coffee in front of her, a familiar face walked into Al's. It was Carly, with her three children. Well, Catherine assumed that where the children she'd talked about. She smiled when Carly waved at her and waved back. Carly told her oldest son to stay in the line with his brother and sister and order the stuff they wanted and handed him money, while she went to Catherine. "Hi Catherine, it's nice to see you here. You already found out about our best diner in town. " Catherine smiled. "It's nice to see you too. So, those are your children." Carly nodded. "Yeah, that's my youngest girl, Sage. And Parker, he's the oldest. JJ... Well, JJ is a complicated story. He's not our biological son, but I think of him as it. It's kinda complicated and..." Catherine cut her off imidiately. "You don't have to tell me, I understand." "So, do you and Gil have any children?" Catherine was standing at a crossroad at this point; what was she going to tell? She decided to be honest... Well, almost honest. "I have a daughter, Lindsey. Gil's not her father, and she's living with her father in Nevada now." Carly gave her a sympathetic look and said: "That must be hard for you, being her without your daughter." Catherine nodded. "It is. But I talk to her a lot, and she'll be here in her vacation." Carly smiled and saw her children were finished ordering their food and drinks, and said: "Hey, I have to go, or the kids get grumbling. Would you like to have a drink with me some time soon?" Catherine nodded. "I'd like that." Carly nodded as well and said: "How about tonight? We can meet in the Lakeview, around nine?" Catherine smiled and said: "That sounds perfect. I'll see you there." When Carly had left with her children, Catherine decided it was time to do her shopping.

Around eleven, Emily arrived at her mother's house. Her sister, Alison, opened the door when she rang the doorbell and said: "Hey sis, glad you're here. Mom was alreay getting upset because you're late." Emily smiled in apology and said: "I'm sorry, I'd overslept." it wasn't exactly the truth she told her sister, buth Alison and her mother didn't need to know about what she'd been doing that morning. When she'd stepped under the shower that morning, Dusty had decided to join her. Eventually, they ended up taking a shower that took them more than an hour. And it had involved a lot more than just a shower. While she hung up her coat, Alison said: "Dusty didn't come with you?" Emily shook her head. "No, he'll come next time." Alison nodded, and then the two sisters went to the living room.

When Catherine was doing her purchases, she realised she had to get used to everything standing so high in the shelves. She had to stand on her toes to get what she wanted sometimes. When she'd reached the noodles and soups, she realised she was too short to grab those though. While she was struggeling to grab the noodles and soup she wanted -she wasn't succeeding in it at all,- a tall, handsome man grabbed the stuff she was trying to reach and said: "Is this what you wanted?" Catherine smiled and said: "Yeah, thank you. Those damn shelves shouldn't be so high. It's kinda offending for the little people like me." The man smiled and said: "Well, you're not the only one who's having problems with it, I'm sure about that." He handed her his hand and said: "Hi, I'm Brad. Brad Snyder." Catherine smiled again and said: "Hi, Catherine. I just moved here." The man smiled and said: "I figured." He gave her a sly smile and said: "I've got to go. I'll probably see you around." Brad gave the strawberry blonde a last smile, and went to the cash desk. When Brad went to Al's Diner an hour later to meet his girlfriend, he'd seen her sitting on a table bye the window. There were two cups of coffee standing right in front of her, and 2 donuts were lying on napkins. Brad smiled to himself; he was just in time. When he walked in, he gave his girlfriend -Katie Peretti,- a kiss on her lips. She smiled at him and said: "I'm sorry, but I can't stay very long. I promised Margo to meet her, she wanted to talk to me about something." Margo was Katie's sister, and the two were pretty close. Brad nodded and drank his coffee, while the two talked.

Later that day, Catherine met with Jack and Margo at the policestation. She accepted the "job" they'd offered her, and after that, the three talked immidiately. Jack said: "Your co workers have sent us a couple of new faxes, and there are some intresting things in it. I suggest you read them now, and copy them and take them with you, so Gil can read them as well." Catherine nodded and started reading the files. The latest victim -the one they'd found a couple of days before Gil and Catherine went to Oakdale,- had been raped. She was the first woman that had been raped. There were five victims, 2 men and three women. The files also stated that in a garbage can near the crime scene, a condom had been found. The sperm they'd found in it hadn't been a match in KODIS, but if there would be a suspect, they could compare the DNA. Catherine nodded after she'd read the files. It wasn't a lot that her CSI-colleagues had found, but at least it was something.


	4. 3

_Note: Sorry for the delay, I have been really, really busy! I hope everyone will enjoy this chapter again, please let me know what you think of it! x._

**3.**

That evening, Meg Snyder went over to Paul Ryan's suite in the Lakeview. She'd been tossing and turning for two days now about his vision. It was obvious Paul wasn't too keen on Craig. But his vision stated that Craig would be killed. And that was something Meg couldn't believe. Craig had a lot of enemnies, but she couldn't possibly believe that her Paul would be able to kill him. It was why she needed to talk to Paul. Meg needed to know what exactly Paul felt about Craig. She knew he despited him. But did Paul hated Craig enough to kill him? Meanwhile, Paul was thinking about his girlfriend. He wanted to call her, but he knew she would call him if she was ready for it. Paul had been thinking about his vision for hours. Him, with a dead Craig, with a lot of blood, and a knife on the floor. What did it mean? Would it mean Paul had killed Craig? Would it mean Paul would find Craig dead? Paul wasn't having a clue.

When Catherine had gotten home that afternoon, she'd given Gil the files and told him about her appointment with Carly. Catherine figured he could go and meet with Jack that evening, but Gil wasn't so sure about that. Catherine was a little worried about him; he seemed to miss Las Vegas and the lab a little bit too much in her eyes. He'd assured her he was fine though, and she could see from the look in his eyes, that he didn't want her to ask anything else. So she decided to just take a shower and get dressed to have dinner with Gil and then meet Carly at the Lakeview. During dinner, Catherine asked Gil: "So, Gil..What are we going to tell everybody?" Gil shrugged. "What do you mean?" Catherine gave him a look and said: "What do you think I mean... I mean, what are we going to tell everyone about us? Where did we meet, how long have we been married, why aren't you working... We have to tell everyone the same story." Gil shrugged. Catherine sighed. She had this idea, that she was the one who was going to make up the stories.

That evening, Emily was getting ready to go have a drink with Dusty. When Dusty had asked her for the fourth time if she was finally ready -they were just having a drink,- her phone rang. She wasn't planning on picking it up, but when she saw it was Alison, she decided to let Dusty wait a couple of minutes. "With Emily." "Emily, hi, it's me." Alison souned upset, and Emily was worrying immidiately. "Ali, what's wrong?" "Emily... Can you come? Please... Aaron.. He's.." Emily heard Alison almost crying on the other end of the phone, and said: "I'll be right there, Ali." Dusty just walked in when Emily said: "I'll be right there, Ali." and asked: "What's going on?" Emily shrugged. "I'm not sure, she said something about Aaron. I... I have to go to her, Dusty." Dusty nodded. "It's okay, I understand. Call me if you need me." Emily nodded, and after a kiss, she left. Dusty sat down on the bed, and decided to grab a drink in the Lakeview lobby on his own. After all, he was on his own anyway.

When Meg arrived at Paul's hoteldoor, she wasn't sure of what to do. She was a little scared to knock on the door and go in there; she hadn't spoke to Paul for two days. She was scared he was angry. Or maybe a little dissapointed in her. When she wanted to walk away, the door suddenly swung open. Paul was standing in front of her and said softly: "I already thought I heard something." Paul let Meg in and the two were standing uncomfortably in front of each other for a while. Paul cleared his throat and said: "So...Why are you here?" "I...I....I just.. We need to talk, Paul. About your vision." Paul shrugged. "I figured. Sit down, please." There was an uncomfortable tension hanging in the room and Meg wanted it to be cleared as soon as possible. Meg started talking. "So.. I.. I just need to know something. You know, I believe in those visions of you. You proved to me that it's true, more than once. I just.. I need to know... Is your hate for Craig big enough to be able to kill him?"

Catherine was in the Lakeview that evening at nine sharp. She saw Carly sitting at a table already though, so she walked over to her. After a quick greeting, Catherine sat down and ordered a glass of wine. Carly started talking immidiately. "So..Tell me something about yourself. Why did you two move here?" Catherine smiled. It had defenitely been a good thing to think of a story earlier that evening. It came in handy at this point. "Gil and I just needed to get away from Las Vegas. Gil's been having a burn-out for a while now, and Vegas was just so... So dark and everything happened so fast there. We just decided to move here, have a period of rest and just see what happens." Carly nodded in agreement, and Catherine realised she hated lying like this. She hated lying, and Carly actually seemed interested in her. She hoped, in the end, when everything was solved, Carly would understand her. Catherine then asked her: "And you and Jack, you've been living here for a long time?" While Carly started talking about her and Jack's complicated relationship, Catherine spotted Dusty at the Lakeview bar. He seemed to recognize her, because he gave her a sly smile and a nod, while Catherine smiled back at him.

Meanwhile, Emily was sitting next to her sister, who was sobbing next to her. Alison was having problems -again- with her boyfriend, Aaron Snyder, Holden Snyder's son. After Aaron had found out about Alison and Dusty sleeping together, he'd been angry. And angry was a understatement. After a couple of days he had cooled down a little though, and things seemed to get better between the two again. But that afternoon, Aaron had been talking to Aliosn and had been angry again. He said he needed her to stop seeing Dusty because he felt like he simply couldn't trust her when she was around him. Alison had been furious and the two had had a fight again. After a couple of minutes, Aaron walked out with the words: "Fine, it's done. We're over, I'm sick of you, I'm sick of everything." And Alison was devestated. She'd called him and texted him, but he didn't answer. And she just needed her sister Emily tried to cheer up her sister a little, she heard the front door slam. Alison sighed immidiately; she wasn't in the mood for her mother. She tried to dry her tears -something that wasn't going very well,- when she saw Aaron standing in front of her.

Paul looked at Meg in a distant way. Her question made him think. Díd he hate Craig enough to kill him? Meg was nervous about his answer. What if he'd say yes? Meanwhile, Paul was thinking. He hated Craig. He did. But he loved Meg too much to risk a lifetime in prison just to get rid of Craig. And that's what Paul told Meg. Meg flew in Paul's arms. She felt silly for accusing him of being able to kill Craig, and realised she was just being stupid. Paul loved her. He really did. And she loved him as well. "I'm sorry Paul." He kissed her on her forehead and said: "Don't be. I understand. I love you Meg." "I love you to."

In the Lakeview lobby, were Catherine and Carly were having a nice talk, Carly's phone suddenly rang. Catherine could see something was going on, and when Carly hung up she said: "Catherine, I'm sorry. Sage fell of the stairs, and she's in pain. Jack said she was begging him to call me. I'm sorry..." Catherine shook her head. "No, don't be silly, you don't have to be sorry. Go to your daughter, I'll just drink my glass of wine and then I'll leave. We rearrange a new appointment some time soon." Carly nodded, gave Catherine a quick hug, left some money and left. Catherine looked around the Lakeview, a little dissapointed about Carly leaving. She understood, but she was having a good time. When she looked back to the place where Carly had just been sitting, she saw a smiling Dusty sitting in front of her.

_Note: Liked it, hated it? Let me know, button's just below! x._


	5. 4

_Note: Part four this is! Enjoy! x._

**4.**

That same evening, Gil was on his own. He was sitting at their kitchentable, flipping through files and thinking about the serial killer. It was strange. Gil knew there was going to be a murder in two weeks in Oakdale, but he wasn't having a clue. The clues they were having so far, weren't leading to anything. Gil realised they probably weren't able to find the killer in time, and it irritated him more than ever. It wasn't necessary to have another victim, if they were only able to find a little more clues that could lead to the killer. Gil hoped Nick, Sara, Warrick and Greg were able to find more information back in Vegas, but he was afraid there wouldn't be any clues, and that he and Catherine being in Oakdale was useless. He didn't mind though. He missed his house and his bugs -Catherine insisted he'd let them home,- but he was happy to be with Catherine. She was his best friend. And she was a beautiful woman. Gil realised he was enjoying her company more and more, but he wasn't able to show it to her. So it came in handy that they had to be husband and wife. In that case, it wouldn't be too weird if he would call her 'honey' or stand a little too close to her. It would be totally ordinary. When Gil put the files away on a safe place and grabbed a crossword, the doorbell rang. He was suprised; would Catherine be home that soon? When he opened the door though, he found Jack Snyder in front of him. Jack kinda let himself in, while he said: "Hi Gil, hope you don't mind I'm coming by. But I figured, since the woman are out for a drink, I had a chance to ask you some things.." Gil nodded and the two men sat down on the couch. Jack started talking immidiately. "First of all...I was wondering if you and Catherine would like to have dinner with me, Carly and a couple of other people tomorrow evening. It might be a nice way for you two to meet some new people and..." When Jack was in the middle of his sentence, his phone rang. When he answered it, he looked a little worried and when he hung up, he said: "I'm sorry Gil, but Sage fell of the stairs. I have to go home." Gil nodded, and Jack said: "We'll expect you and Catherine come to dinner tomorrow night, okay?" With those words, Jack left and left Gil alone again, who simply went on with his crossword. When Jack came home, he saw a crying Sage sitting on the couch with Parker and JJ next to her, trying to console her. It didn't seem to help at all though. When Sage saw her father, she started crying even louder and Parker said: "Dad, she's already in pain when we even touch her knee." Jack nodded and said: "Parker, will you grab some ice? I'll go call your mother."

In the Lakeview, Dusty looked at Catherine from head to toe. Well, as far as he could look down. She was intriguing. There was something about the woman in front of him, that made him want to look at her. That made him want to talk to her. He knew it wasn't that smart to do. If Emily found out about him even talking to another woman, especially a woman she didn't know, would probably result in a fight between the two of them. He couldn't help it though. While Dusty smiled at her, he gave her a hand: "Hi. I'm Dusty, Dusty Donovan." Catherine smiled back and gave him her hand: "Catherine. Catherine Willows. Nice to meet you." "It's very nice to meet you to. I saw you moved into the house near the Snyder's house." Catherine nodded and said: "Yeah. I remember you walked bye yesterday with a pretty blonde." Dusty gave her a smile. "Emily." "Your wife?" He shook his head. "No... But she's my lady." Catherine smiled. "That's almost the same. So, why are you here? On your own?" He smiled while he took a sip of his whisky and said: "Well.. Emily had an emergency-call from her sister. We were planning on grabbing a few drinks together, but she had to go to her sister. So I was grabbing a few drinks on my own. And I saw you, on your own, after Carly left. So I figured I'd join you."

Aaron stood in front of Alison and Emily, looking at the woman he loved. He was so angry. And yet, he still loved Alison more than anything in the world. He was getting sick of Emily and Dusty though. He couldn't understand how Emily was able to forgive Dusty as easy as she'd done. When Alison realised Aaron was standing in front of her, she stood up and went upstairs. Aaron wanted to go after him, but Emily grabbed his hand and said: "I think you have to let her be alone for a while, Aaron. She wasn't very happy with everything you've yelled at her a couple of hours ago." Aaron's anger was rising again, and he started shouting: "If you would've kept Dusty in line I wouldn't have yelled anything. I can't believe how you just forgave Dusty and moved on with him! How can you forget about him sleeping with your sister? Doesn't that mean something to you? Doesn't it mean something to you that he slept with your sister while you were already in love with him, and he probably knew you were? Dusty's a womaniser Emily, and he will always be! He will never be able to stay true to you!" Aaron's words hit Emily like a hammer. Emily softly said: "Go upstairs to Ali. Make it up to her." She had tried to forget about Dusty sleeping with her sister so bad. She hated the idea of the two sharing everything they had and it was killing her when she had to think about it. Like she had to do right now. She'd loved Dusty long before he'd admitted he loved her. And she had to admit it did do something to her when she thought of Alison sleeping with Dusty. Of course it did. It hurt her more than anything in the world. Tears started welling up in her eyes and she went out of the house as quick as she could. Apparently, she wasn't as over it as she thought she was. She tried to dry her tears as quick as possible though. Emily knew Dusty loved women. But she knew he was satisfied with her. She hoped he was.

When Carly arrived home, Jack was sitting next to Sage on the couch, while Parker and JJ were making their sister hot chocolate. Jack was still holding the icepackage against her knee, and Carly was afraid something was wrong with her daughter. When she saw Jack's assuring smile -the one's he always saved for her,- she knew it wasn't too bad. She gave Jack a quick kiss, and in those couple of seconds, he gently rubbed her back. When Carly sat down next to her daughter and gave her a kiss, she said: "Hi baby, what happened?" Sage, who just stopped crying, said: " Well, I wanted to get downstairs to watch a movie, so I kinda ran down. And then I fell." "Oh honey, you shouldn't run down, we told you that. But you're okay now, right?" Sage shrugged and said: "I guess. It really hurts, but daddy said it would just be a big bruise and nothing more." Carly smiled and gave her daughter a kiss on her forehead when her two boys walked in with hot chocolate for their sister. Carly touched the body's of her sons briefly and said: "That's sweet of you guys. I'll go grab some cookies."

Catherine smiled again at Dusty and said: "So, since you know Carly, I assume you've been living in this town for a while." Dusty started laughing a little and said: "You don't have to live her long to know who Carly is. Everyone in this town knows who Carly is." "Is that a bad thing?" While Catherine took a sip of her wine, she wondered if there was something about Carly she had to know. Dusty shook his head and said: "Not necessarily.' Catherine smiled. His answers made her want to know more about him. "So, you moved here yesterday huh? Where are you from?" "Las Vegas." Dusty's mind quickly went to his night with Alison, and all problems that had happened after wards. It was all done though, and he hated thinking about it, so he quickly said: "Vegas. I love that city at night." Catherine smiled. "Yeah, Vegas is great." "You want another drink?" Dusty was already waving at the waiter, but Catherine realised it was time to go home though. Tomorrow would be her first day at work, and besides; she was supposed to be married. And he was taken as well. And Catherine was attracted to him. Perhaps a little too attracted.

While Dusty and Catherine said goodbye –without even a polite kiss on the cheek,- Emily was standing further on. She saw Dusty. With a gorgeous redhead, smiling at him. When she saw him smiling at her, her heart sunk to the bottom of her belly. Because, that smile he smiled, he always saved for her. And she wasn't very happy that he was giving that smile to the pretty redhead.


	6. 5

_Note: Sorry for the delay! I couldn't log in for a couple of days here, so it took a little longer to update than I'd planned. The next chapter will be up very soon! I hope you enjoy this one! x._

**5.**

Gil woke up that morning when Catherine's alarm clock went off. It was Catherine's first day working at the police station, so today they would probably hear something from their colleagues in Las Vegas. After Catherine slammed at her alarm clock to make the beeping stop, she turned around with a sleepy head and said: "Good morning." "Good morning." Gil smiled at Catherine; she looked so adorable with her sleepy head and little eyes. She was gorgeous. Catherine stretched herself out and sat up straight in the bed and said: "Gil, I'll probably get the files from home today. I'll take them with me tonight, then we can go over them tonight." Gil nodded, but then remembered Jack's question. "Oh, wait, Cath, we have an appointment tonight." Catherine looked at him and said: "An appointment? With who?" Gil shrugged and said: "I'm not sure. But Jack was here yesterday evening, and invited us for a dinner tonight, with a couple of other people." Catherine nodded and said: "That will probably be nice. I'll be home in time."

Just in time, Catherine arrived at the police station for her first day. Jack guided her to her desk, which was near his and Margo's. He assured her no one would know about her being a CSI, except of course the people who worked the case, but he stated that wouldn't be a lot of people. After Jack had told her were she would be working, he got called and headed for the phone, so Catherine was left with Margo. Catherine wasn't sure she liked Margo. That was mainly because she had the idea Margo didn't like her. Catherine tried to be nice though and said: "So, what am I supposed to do?" Margo shrugged and said: "You should do like every secretary does. You have to fill in the forms we ask you to fill in in the computer, and at the same time, you're allowed to work on the case of the serial killer." Catherine nodded, and after that, Margo went on with her work, while Catherine sat down at her desk and waited for Jack to hand her the files she needed.

That same morning, Dusty woke up around eleven in an empty bed. He'd enjoyed his time with the pretty redhead in the Lakeview, but after she'd left, he started missing Emily again. Dusty felt a little weird about the situation. When he'd been talking to Catherine, he hadn't been thinking about Emily at all, and he was wondering why. After Catherine had left, Dusty had been waiting for Emily in the Lakeview until twelve o'clock, and then went to bed. Dusty realised though that Emily's side of the bed looked as if no one had been there though. Dusty knew she'd been with her sister the evening before –and she probably had spent there the night,- but he was worried. When he called her, she didn't answer her phone. That's when was getting worried. He jumped out of bed and took a quick shower. Meanwhile, Emily did see him calling her. She was sitting in Al's Diner, with coffee in front of her. She'd been up all night, and she was broken. After Aaron's words, and seeing Dusty with another woman, she felt as if Aaron's words became truth. Dusty would never be able to stick with someone for the rest of his life, Emily knew he wouldn't. And it hurt her more than anything.

Around noon, Catherine had read all the information Sara, Warrick, Nick and Greg had collected back in Las Vegas. They weren't any wiser than they were before they'd sent the files. The files stated that the person who wrote the notes, was left-handed. The last note, the one the CSI's had found before Gil and Catherine went to Oakdale,- had also had some drops of something fluid on it. The analyse of it was finally finished, and it was obvious the fluid drops were a drink –probably iced tea or cola,- with a fluid medication against heavy tantrums. It wasn't a lot, but it could be useful during their investigation. Catherine decided to call Gil, and ask him to look through the files they had at home about all Oakdale's residents, to find out if there was anyone with tantrums. It wasn't sure at all whether one of Oakdale's residents was the killer, but perhaps it would lead to something. When Gil received Catherine's information, he started working immediately. He was a little fed up with the results. Of course, there had been fights in Oakdale. People had gotten into arguments and punched each other in the face. But someone with real anger problems? There was no current habitant who was really sufficing to that description.

That same day, Dusty searched all over Oakdale for Emily, and called her every couple of minutes. He'd first checked Alison and Susan's home, but Alison –who had made up with Aaron that same evening,- told him Emily had left that same evening after a couple of hours. After them, he'd checked their Lakeview suite again, in case she'd come home. He went to Metro, and Yo's, but he couldn't find Emily. When he walked into Al's, the waitress said Emily had been there the entire morning. It was already seven o'clock when he found Emily near the Snyder Pont, the little lake near Emma Snyder's house, were Emily was sitting in the grass. Her eyes were red and Dusty could see she'd been crying. Quietly, he sat down next to her and grabbed her hand. She untangled hers immediately though and Dusty whispered: "Em…What is going on?" He wanted to look in her eyes, but she kept looking away, and didn't answer at all. "Em, you have to tell me what's wrong, I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong." He gently turned her head so she would face him, and he saw the tears falling down her face. Dusty hated it when Emily cried. Especially when he didn't know why. He wanted to fix it if something was wrong. He gently kissed her lips, and was relieved to find her kissing him back. Their kiss became more passionate every second and Dusty was just touching Emily's skin underneath her t-shirt, when Emily pushed him away and said: "Dusty, I can't do this." Dusty frowned and said: "What do you mean? It's not like we haven't done this before." He tried to be funny, but the look on Emily's face made very clear she wasn't in the mood for a stupid joke. "Emily, talk to me."

When Catherine came home that evening, she had to hurry for the dinner at Carly and Jack's house. Thirty minutes before Gil and her would leave, she received a text message from Carly, that said that they wouldn't have dinner at her and Jack's house, but at Emma Snyder's house, and that Jack and her would pick them up.

_Note: Button's below... x. _


	7. 6

_Note: Yay, I'm quick. Next chapter will be more case-related, I promise! Please let me know what you think of it! x._

**6.**

A little before seven, Jack, Carly and their kids arrived at Catherine and Gil's place. The two were introduced to the kids, and then headed for the Snyder farm., Jack, Carly and their kids arrived at Emma Snyder's farm. While they were walking, Catherine said: "So, how is Sage? What happened?" Carly smiled and said: "Nothing big, she'd hurt her knee. I'm sorry I took off like that, we'll reschedule some time soon, okay?" Catherine nodded, and after a couple of minutes, they arrived at the farm. Catherine immediately loved it. It was so cute, so familiar; she loved it. When the four walked in, they were greeted warmly by Emma, and they were introduced to Holden and Lily Snyder and their children, and Paul Ryan and Meg Snyder. Emma admitted it was sort of a family dinner, but when Catherine asked if it wouldn't be better then to eat without her and Gil, to older woman started laughing. "No, no, don't be silly. I like having new people here, you two seem nice. Come in, come in."

Meg and Catherine started talking quickly, and the two immediately had a click. While they were talking, Paul and Gil mangled in the conversation. When Paul stood next to Meg, she rested her hand on his thigh, while they stood close to each other. It made Catherine realise she and Gil were supposed to be partners as well. She pulled her arm around his waist, a gesture that surprised Gil. He wasn't sure what exactly to do, so he stood kinda uncomfortable to his sort of wife. After a couple of minutes chatting, Meg said: "Catherine, shall I show you the stables and horses?" Catherine nodded. "I'd like that, I love horses." While Catherine and Meg walked over to the stables, Catherine told Meg about Sam –her father,- who had owned horses as well.

Meanwhile, Dusty and Emily were still sitting near the Snyder's Pont. Dusty heard noises near the house, but he needed Emily to talk to him. He stroke her tears off her cheeks, and while he kept his hands on her cheeks, Emily started talking. "Dusty… I can't do this." "You can't do what?" "This. Us. I can't take it anymore." She made him take his hands of her cheeks, and with tears in her eyes she said: "Everywhere I go, I see reflections of us. And it makes me realize how much I love you. But this little voice in the back of my mind, keeps telling me you will never change. And there are lots of people that keep reminding me you never will. Every single day, I get reminded of the mistakes you've made with my sister and your past. And you know I love you, and I don't care about your past. But I do care about you looking at every other attractive woman in this town. I hate it. I want you to love me. Just me. And maybe it's because of what Aaron told me, but I realised that you just can't. You will never stop loving other women." Dusty grabbed her hand and forced her to look into his eyes when he said: "Emily, stop. You're driving yourself crazy now. Hey, look at me. I love you. Not another woman in this town. You." "I love you too. But we both know you will never be able to stop flirting and I can't take it anymore." Dusty hated this. This wasn't what was supposed to be happening. He loved Emily. "Emily, don't do this. I… I love you." "Emily stood up, and so did Dusty. He grabbed her hand and he knew he had to do something. He pushed her body to his and kissed her. Not just a sweet, quick kiss. It was passion. Pure passion, and he wanted to show her that the two of them were meant to be together. Emily couldn't resist. She got weak. His hands were touching her all over her body and her hands were searching for his skin underneath his shirt. The two paused for a moment, and Dusty gasped and said: "I love you Emily." At that point, she pushed him away. Tears were still in her eyes when she whispered: "I'm sorry,", and ran away.

Meg and Catherine walked back to Emma's kitchen after they'd visited the horses. Catherine adored them. They were gorgeous, gorgeous horses. Meg liked to have another woman in town that liked horses, and she immediately suggested: "We can ride together some time, if you like. It's…." When Meg was in the middle of her sentence, a crying Emily bumped into her. She murmured a quick sorry and then walked on. Meg looked around, wondering why she was crying, and saw Dusty near the pond. Meg and Emily weren't exactly friends. But Meg, caring as she was, was worried about the woman. Meg said: "Catherine… I'm going to Emily, to see what happened. I'll be right back, okay? Just go back inside, I won't be away too long." Catherine nodded, and when Meg walked away, she spotted Dusty near the pond, his head in his hands. She assumed something had happened between the two. Catherine took a quick look inside the Snyder's kitchen, and saw Gil was actually talking with Holden and Jack. He seemed to be having a good time. Catherine looked back to Dusty, and decided to go talk to him. Meanwhile, Meg tried to catch up with Emily, who walked as fast as she could. "Emily! Emily!" . Emily turned around, her face red of crying and yelled: "Go away Meg, I don't need you!"

Catherine walked up to Dusty, who was surprised to see her there. The strawberry blonde had this thing that he liked. A lot. "Hey, what are you doing here?" He tried to smile, but Catherine said: "Don't act as if you're happy. I saw what happened between you and… Well, the blonde lady, what was her name again…" "Emily." Catherine nodded. "Emily. " Dusty nodded, but didn't say a word. Instead, he was just looking at Catherine from head to toe. "So… I guess you don't want to talk about it?" He shook his head. "Not really." They were silent for a while, and Catherine said: "You're not really the chatty-type, are you?" He gave her a sly smile and nodded. Catherine smiled and said: "Well… If you ever feel like talking and don't know who to talk to… You can always give me a call." Catherine grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down her number. Dusty smiled. "Well, thank you. What are you doing here, bye the way?" "I'm having dinner with the Snyder family. Jack and Carly invited us." Dusty looked in her eyes and said: "Us?" Catherine nodded, and realised she'd never told him about Gil. "Yeah. Me… And Gil, my husband." Dusty nodded, and said: "Well… I guess you should go back inside, then." Catherine nodded, but didn't start walking. "I guess. I'll see you around some time." Dusty nodded. "I guess." They smiled, and after that, Catherine walked back to the farm.

Meg and Catherine walked into the kitchen at the same time, and Emma announced dinner was ready. Meg quickly walked over to Catherine and Catherine said: "Was Emily okay?" Meg shrugged and said: "She didn't want to talk to me." Catherine nodded and said: "Well, Dusty wasn't exactly a flood of words either." Meg smiled and said: "You know Dusty?" Catherine shrugged a little and said: "We've met a couple of times before." After that sentence, the entire family –including Gil,- walked in, and the women sat down on the chairs that were reserved for them. When Catherine took her first bite of Emma's food, she was sold. It was delicious. While the entire family was busy talking, both Catherine and Gil were –while talking,- observing the people. They all seemed so nice and fun though, that neither of them expected one of them could be the horrible serial killer.


	8. 7

_Note: So, this is the next chapter. I'm kinda sad this story isn't as well-viewed as I hoped it would be, but after all, I wasn't expecting a lot of people waiting for a ATWT/CSI story. I do want to thank all the readers and reviewers, I appreciate it so much and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing. x. _

**7.**

The next morning was a Saturday. Catherine didn't need to go to work that day, and Gil decided to make her breakfast. He enjoyed his time here. He missed his house, but being with Catherine made it all okay. She seemed a little off though, but Gil assumed she missed Lindsey. His breakfast was supposed to be a little cheer up though, and Gil knew Catherine was able to give her daughter a phone call today. Catherine came downstairs at ten in the morning, exactly when Gil had finished the breakfast. It made Catherine smile immediately and she said: "Aw, Gil, you shouldn't have done that! That's so sweet, thank you so much!" She gave him a quick kiss on his cheeks, and sat down at their kitchen table with breakfast. Catherine didn't notice Gil's cheeks turning a little red. Catherine meant a lot to him. More than he could probably ever let her know.

Meanwhile, Emily was drinking coffee with her mother. Susan knew Emily was upset, but her daughter was determined to keep her mouth shut and not talk about her problems. Susan knew it had something to do with that darn Dusty, and she hated it. Susan didn't like Dusty at all, and she hated the fact Emily loved the man. Susan tried to be as comforting as possible though towards her daughter. Susan always thought Dusty was a wrong man, deep down inside. She couldn't blame Emily for falling for him though. Dusty was a gorgeous man. He was nice, comforting and friendly. But he was just wrong. While giving her daughter another cup of coffee, Susan had to admit that she wasn't having a good history of men either. After all, she was the one married to a serial killer…. Thank God Ric Decker had been gone for a long, long time.

While Gil was taking a shower, Catherine flipped through the files with Oakdale residents. She decided to take one more look. It probably wouldn't make a difference, but Catherine was determined to find a clue for the serial killer. She was getting irritated. Oakdale was a lovely town, but she missed her daughter so much. She'd called her this morning, and Lindsey sounded a little sad. Catherine figured Lindsey missed her as well. She hated being away from her daughter. Catherine stopped flipping through the files when she saw the file of a Ric Decker in front of her. He wás a serial killer. She saw he was locked up in a psychiatric hospital, so they could probably scrap him off of the list. Craig Montgomery was someone to keep in mind as well, according to the files. She hadn't met him yet though, but according to the files, he'd done everything the law forbade. James Stenbeck was the third man. He was currently gone, as if he was vanished, but James was the ultimate bad guy in Oakdale, according to the files in front of her. He'd done everything the law and God had forbidden. Before yesterday, Catherine had figured Paul Ryan could be a suspect as well. After meeting him the evening before, she had to admit Paul was nice man. And although killers could hide their urge pretty well, Catherine was almost certain Paul couldn't be a killer. Gil came downstairs while Catherine was sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through the files. He admired her for a while. She was pretty when she was just sitting and thinking. But she was always gorgeous. Gil walked to the kitchen table, while saying: "What are you doing?" Catherine looked up and smiled, and said: "Just reading these files. Again. Have you read Rick Decker's file? And Craig Montgomery's?" Gil nodded and said: "I did. Rick Decker's in prison though." Catherine nodded and said: "Is that absolutely certain? He hasn't been released thanks to good behaviour or anything?" Gil shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'll check that with Jack, I'll email him." Catherine nodded and said: "Can you ask him about Craig as well? And ask about James Stenbeck. That guy seems to disappear every once in a while, but he has a huge track record. And maybe Paul Ryan too. I don't really see Paul as a suspect, but those are the only four men I could possibly see as killers according to their track records." Gil nodded and said: "I'll give Jack a call, perhaps I can meet him this afternoon." Catherine nodded. "That would be good." At that moment, her cell phone rang. There was a text message from a unknown number, saying: "_Want to grab a drink? Meet me at the Lakeview_." Catherine figured it was Dusty. She stood up and said: "Gil, I'm meeting someone In the Lakeview." "Someone?" Catherine smiled and said: "Dusty. Dusty Donovan. I met him the evening I went to the Lakeview with Carly." Gil nodded and said: "Is he a suspect?" Catherine shrugged, but couldn't hide a little smile. She liked the fact that Dusty called her. In her opinion, he absolutely wasn't. But she figured she wasn't objective enough; she liked Dusty, a lot. So she said: "I'm not sure. Hanging out with him will give me a better idea of him." Gil nodded. It was a good thing Catherine mangled so well with the people in Oakdale. But the smile on her face when she'd said "Dusty" worried him a little. While Catherine went away to the Lakeview, Gil gave Jack a call. Jack was at work when he answered his phone. "Jack, it's Gil. Are you at work?" "Yes, I am actually. But what can I do?" "I was just wondering… Can you look up some more information about James Stenbeck, Paul Ryan, Ric Decker, Craig Montgomery….. And Dusty Donovan?" Gil knew Catherine hadn't asked for the last man. But Gil wanted to know a little more about him. "Sure. Are there any clues lead to them?" "Not really. But they're the four we could think of when we heard about the medication for anger problems. And they all have a pretty big track record as well."

Catherine spotted Dusty immediately when she arrived at the Lakeview. He was sitting with his back towards her, but she recognized him immediately in his greyish suit. She walked to the free sit in front if him, sat down and said: "Hey." "Hey." They sat down in silence for a while, until the waiter came over to Catherine to ask what she wanted to drink. After he took her order –a simple martini,- Catherine said: "So… I guess you wanted to talk." Dusty nodded, but didn't say a word. He looked at Catherine. Dusty loved her blue, sparkling eyes, and her skin full with little birthmarks. She was gorgeous. Catherine looked at him and said: "Go ahead." Dusty shook his head and said: "I want to talk about you." "Why?" "Because of what you said yesterday." The waiter brought Catherine her drink, and after he disappeared she said: "What did I say yesterday that makes you want me to come all the way here?" "The us you talked about yesterday. You……. You kinda gave me this idea that you weren't married. That you were here bye yourself." Catherine took a sip of her drink and said: "I didn't think it would bother you." Catherine looked into Dusty's eyes when he said: "I'm not supposed to be bothered bye it. I was just surprised I guess. You don't look like the marriage type." Catherine was a little offended and said: "Well, thank you." Dusty immediately said: "No, I don't mean it like that." Catherine smiled and said: "Well, what do you mean then?" Dusty shrugged. "I'm not sure… You're just… You're a flirt." "So are you." Dusty just smiled while he drank up his whisky. "You want to go walk around town?" Catherine nodded. "Sure." While they walked out of the Lakeview in silence, Catherine started thinking. She wasn't exactly sure what was happening. It was almost as if Dusty had her in some sort of trance when she was in his company. She liked him. A lot. Meanwhile, Dusty was feeling something as well. He wasn't sure what though. He had to admit that he didn't care at all about the fact that she was married. He just saw a gorgeous woman that he liked.

Meanwhile, Gil had received an email from Jack. Jack had sent two different files, one from Ric Decker and one from Dusty Donovan. Jack had typed that the other three would come later that day. Gil curiously opened Ric's file. Apparently, Ric had been a pretty successful doctor in Oakdale's hospital, Oakdale Memorial. Soon after his arrival, there had been several murders. Ric had been seen as a suspect, along with a trainee in the hospital. Bob Hughes, who had been a doctor in the hospital, couldn't see Ric as a serial killer, even though Ric had been accused of killing when he'd worked in San Francisco. Ric was getting married to Susan Stewart, and after they'd been married and he'd drugged Susan, he was getting in trouble. Ric wanted to get away, but Susan's daughter Alison was in his way. He'd kidnapped her and tried to kill her, but Alison misled him. Ric had been able to keep Alison hostage though, but Chris Hughes –Alison fiancée at the time,- had saved her. Ric admitted all his actions afterwards, and had been sent to prison. A year later, Ric had gotten into a psychiatric hospital, were he had been able to escape. Gil scratched his head when he realised Ric wasn't in prison, or in a psychiatric hospital. At that moment, the doorbell rang. Gil closed the files on the kitchen table and put them in a special closet before opening the front door. It was Jack though. "Jack, hi. I didn't expect to see you here." Jack nodded. "Neither did I. But this is important. Can I come in?" Gil nodded, and while Jack went inside, he said: "Is Catherine here as well?"

_Note: Liked it, hated it? The button's just below! x. _


	9. 8

_Note: I'm so sorry for the huge delay in this story. I hope there are still some of you who are enjoying this story. I'm trying to make the story a little less complicated, with a little less characters involved. Please let me know what you think of it! xx._

**8.**

Emily decided it was time to leave her mother's house. She had to pick up her son, Daniël, who was staying with his father, Tom Hughes, and his stepmother, Margo Hughes. Emily stood up and said: "Mom, I've got to pick up Daniël. Thanks for the coffee." Susan stood up immediately and said: "Emily… Please. Tell me, are you really okay? I can see something's going on, and I'm sure it had something to do with Dusty. You know you can tell me everything." Emily sighed. She was sick of it, and while raising her voice she said: "Mom, please… Dusty and I are done, okay? We're done, over. You're happy now?" Susan was stunned and said: "Emily, sweetheart, I'm not happy if you're not. But… I think it's better if you two stop seeing each other. It only makes you sad." Emily was furious, even though her mother was right in some way. She and Dusty had spent so much time together, and a lot of it was nice. But they had had a lot of fights as well. "Mom, I really need to go." With those words, Emily left. She was crying while she rushed to her car. She hated herself for being jealous. Because it was thanks to her jealousy that Dusty and her would never, ever be the couple she wanted them to be.

When they walked around town, Dusty suddenly asked: "So, tell me about your marriage." Catherine wasn't sure what to tell him. She wanted to tell him she wasn't married to Gil, but that would get the case in danger. So she decided to twist everything. She had to lie anyway. "It's… Complicated." "Complicated is a little… Complicated. What do you mean?" Catherine shrugged and said: "We're having problems. Or maybe I'm having problems, I'm not sure. Gil has been having a burn-out for a while now, that's why we decided to get away from Vegas. I figured he would calm down and feel better, but I feel like it's getting worse. I'm…. I'm just not sure I still love him as much as I should love my husband." Catherine was surprised of how easy she was able to do this, but felt guilty when she saw Dusty's sympathetic look. "But you do love him don't you?" Catherine shrugged, and decided to answer honestly to this question. As far as possible. "I don't know. We've changed so much throughout the years. I do love him… I just… I'm feeling like I'm falling in love with someone else." Dusty stopped walking and looked in her eyes when he said: "Who's that lucky man?" His eyes made Catherine melt and without thinking she said: "You." Dusty looked at her, just smiling, when her phone suddenly rang. She saw it was Gil. "Gil?" "Hi Cath, it's me. Jack's here, to talk about the case. You're able to come?" Catherine sighed. She didn't want to leave, but she knew she had to. "Sure. I'll be there in ten minutes." She hung up immediately after that and Dusty said: "Your husband?" Catherine nodded. "Yeah. I'm… I'm sorry." Dusty cut her apology off. "Don't be. I understand, he needs you. You should go." Catherine nodded. "I know." She didn't move though, and said: "Dusty… I like you. Can we meet again tonight, please?" Dusty shrugged and said: "Catherine, look. I think you're a gorgeous woman, but I do not want to ruin your marriage. You're vulnerable right now because you're having doubts about it, but you'll regret it if something will happen between us." Catherine shook her head and looked deeply in his eyes when she said: "I won't. Please, can we meet tonight?" Dusty knew he couldn't resist the woman's begging words and said: "Okay. Come to the Lakeview. I'll text you my suite's number."

Catherine arrived home ten minutes later in her and Gil's house, were she found Jack and Gil at the kitchen table, with a couple of files in front of them. Catherine walked in and put her purse on the couch, and sat down next to the two men. "So, what's going on?" Before Gil could say a thing, Jack started talking. "Gil emailed me this morning about the extended files of a couple of residents." Catherine nodded. "I know, we talked about the names." "Well, then you also know one of them was Ric Decker. He's been in a psychical hospital on the other side of the country for a while, somewhere In Los Angeles. Or actually, we thought he was." Catherine immediately looked up and focused. "What do you mean, he was?" "Margo called the hospital to see how he was doing. We don't usually call those hospitals, especially not after the case had been closed. After all, it's been a couple of years since Ric's been here. Apparently, the hospital has released him a couple of months ago. " "And they haven't even let the Oakdale PD know?" Catherine stared at Jack in disbelief. "They don't need to let us know, it's not compulsory. But I think we should try to track him down. He is definitely a main suspect know." Gil and Catherine nodded, and Gil said: "I'll call one of our co-workers to let them check if he's been living in Las Vegas lately, and we'll let them check for fingerprints in any other cases." Jack nodded. "Yeah, that's good." Jack stood up and said: "I have to get back to the station. I'll email you the other files this afternoon. We can't scrap all the other ones of the list yet." Gil and Catherine nodded, and after they said their goodbyes, Jack was gone. When the door slammed, Catherine's phone beeped. It was a text message, from Dusty. It only said his suite number. It made her smile though. Catherine was glad he wanted to see her. Gil saw Catherine smile and said: "What's so funny?" Catherine felt a little snatched. Gil saw in her eyes she wasn't planning on answering his question, so he said: "Cath, I…. I was wondering, if you liked to get dinner tonight? At the Lakeview perhaps?" The look in Gil's eyes was one Catherine hadn't seen a lot. It was different from the way he usually looked at her. She wasn't sure what it was though, and said: "Gil, I'm sorry. I'm having dinner with someone tonight." Catherine knew there would be a question from Gil that would ask her who it was, and her mind was spinning to give him a good answer. As expected, Gil asked: "Who you're having dinner with?" Catherine decided to take a risk and said: "Meg. She…. She called me this afternoon, and asked if I wanted to have dinner and drinks. I accepted. Do you mind?" While Gil though to himself that he definitely mind, he said instead: "No, go ahead. It's not like we're married." Catherine smiled and said: "Thanks. We'll go to dinner some other time this week. After all, we're supposed to be a married couple, right?" With those words, she ran up the stairs while she yelled: "I'm taking a shower!"

That evening at seven, Catherine was on her way to Dusty's suite. She wore her favourite pair of tight jeans, with a tight black blouse. She hoped she looked good. When she arrived at his door, she took a deep breath before she knocked. Dusty opened very quickly and just said: "Hey." He let her in his suite while Catherine smiled at him and looked around his suite. It was classic, but pretty. Catherine liked it. Dusty handed her a glass of wine while he said: "I've been thinking about you the entire afternoon." "I've been thinking about you as well." While Catherine drank her wine, Dusty drank up his glass of whisky in one, big swig. He put his glass on a counter and said: "You're beautiful." Catherine just smiled while she was standing in the centre of his suite, near his bed. He walked to her, and when he stood just a couple of centimetres away from her he said: "I'm not sure if it's good what I want. And I'm definitely not sure if it's right what I want. But I want it more than anything." Catherine answered in a flirty way: "Well, what is it that you want?" He threw his arm around her waist while he crashed his lips on hers. Catherine's wineglass fell on Dusty's carpet, and while the wine spread over the carpet, their kissed became more passionate and intense. Dusty's hands were gliding all over Catherine's body while he gently pushed her on his bed.

Meanwhile, Gil was home alone. He kept looking at the clock, hoping Catherine would return soon. He knew she would probably stay away for a while, since it was just ten o'clock. He wished she would've stayed home. The couple of days the two had spent in the house together, made him realize how much he needed Catherine. She was always there for him. She was the only one who knew him. The only one he could trust. She was his best friend. And Gil started realizing that he wanted her to be more than his best friend. Gil started realizing that, every time he saw her, he wished he could kiss her. Touch her. Hold her. Love her. He wished they were more among the Oakdale residents. After all, those times were the only times that he could truly, honestly behave as if she was his lover. And vice versa.


	10. 9

_Note: Next chapter!_

**9.**

It was almost eleven in the evening when Catherine was still in Dusty's arms. He was gently stroking her hair while she was resting her head on his chest. They had had sex. And it hadn't just been sex. It had been making love. It was more intense, more passionate than Catherine could ever imagine it could be. She turned her head to face Dusty, and saw he was staring at her. He smiled at her when their eyes met, and Catherine said: "I think you're having a wine spot on your carpet." "I don't care. I'd throw that carpet away if it meant having you in my arms for the rest of my life." Catherine smiled and gave him a kiss on his lips. She wasn't sure where this was heading, and that's what she said. Dusty kissed her on her head and said: "Neither am I. Does it matter?" Catherine shook her head. She was happy that she was lying in the arms of a man she liked. A man she liked a lot. After thirty minutes more filled with kisses and touches, Catherine knew it was time to get back to her house. Gil was probably wondering where she was. When Dusty heard Catherine sigh, he knew she needed to get home. "You have to go don't you?" Catherine nodded. "I do. Gil's probably wondering where I am, it's getting late." She got up slowly and started to grab her clothing while Dusty observed the beautiful, naked lady in his room. He knew he wasn't able to see her as much as he wanted to. But he also knew that the intriguing, pretty, sweet woman in his room would be on his mind the entire day. While she put on her clothes, Catherine said: "Dusty… I… I really want to see you again some time soon." Dusty smiled. "Well, than I guess we agree on that point."

Gil was already asleep that evening when Catherine arrived home. He had tried to wait up, but was just too tired. When he got up that next morning though, the bed next to him was empty. When he came downstairs, he smelled pancakes and saw a smiling Catherine standing in the kitchen. "Ah, you're just in time! Pancakes are finished!" She put two plates on the kitchen table while Gil sat down. While they put the ingredients on the pancakes that they liked –mainly butter and syrup,-, Gil said: "So, you had a good evening with Meg?" Catherine took a bite of a pancake while she smiled. "We did. It was a lot of fun, she's a great woman." Gil nodded and said: "These are delicious bye the way. You're a good cook." Catherine laughed. "Well, thank you. But I think I'm just good at making pancakes." While having breakfast, Gil noticed Catherine's shining face. She was looking happy. He wondered what it was that made her look as shining as she did. He decided to talk about the case though. If he wouldn't, he would probably start fantasizing about the woman in front of him. And it wasn't exactly the right time to do. "So, you're working today?" Catherine nodded. "Yeah. I'm having contact with Nick today, to talk about Ric Decker, and of course the usual secretary stuff. And you?" "I'll check the rest of the files Jack sent me yesterday." Catherine nodded. "Good." After the two finished eating, she put the plates in the dishwasher and said: "So, I'm going. I'll be home around five." Without thinking, Gil said: "You want to have dinner tonight?" Catherine smiled on the outside, and started thinking. She really wanted to see Dusty. But she knew Gil and her had to be seen in public, they were supposed to be a couple after all. So she agreed. "Sure. We'll meet there at five thirty, okay?" Catherine grabbed her purse, smiled one last time and left the house. She wondered why she lied to Gil about Dusty. After all, there wasn't supposed to be a reason for her to lie to him, he was her best friend.

At the station, Catherine received a fax from Nick, that stated that there hasn't been any link with Ric Decker in Las Vegas. He could've changed his name though, so it wasn't anything special. There weren't any fingerprints found at any other crime scene's either that matched with Ric Decker's. A couple of seconds after the first fax, Catherine received another one. It was a quick message, that said: "_We know we can't have any contact, but we wanted to let you know we're working as hard on the case as possible. We're missing you two. And Catherine, Lindsey sends you a big kiss. Sara, Greg, Warrick, Jim and Nick. _Tears were forming in Catherine's eyes. She missed her daughter a lot. She was able to call her this evening though. While Catherine did the usual secretary stuff, Jack came bye to give her an update about the things the Oakdale police was doing. They hadn't had any luck so far. It looked like Ric Decker had disappeared from the earth. A little after twelve, Carly walked into the Oakdale PD. She waved friendly at Catherine, who waved back, and then walked over to Jack, who greeted her with a kiss. "So, you have time for lunch?" Jack made a painful face and said: "Carly, honey, I'm working." "I know, but policemen have time to lunch right?" "I'm sorry honey, I can't. We're working on an important case, I can't just leave an hour to have lunch." Carly nodded, and put her hand on his arm, softly striking up and down his skin while she said: "I understand. I was just really looking forward to have lunch with you… The two of us, together." Jack smiled. He knew Carly wanted them to spend some time together, but both of them had been very busy lately. "We'll do something later this week, together, okay? Maybe you can go with Catherine. She's able to go away for lunch." Carly smiled and gave Jack a kiss. "You know, that's actually a good idea."

Ten minutes later, the two women were in Al's Diner, with a coffee and hamburgers in front of them. Carly laughed while she said: "This is my guilty pleasure. I love hamburgers." Catherine smiled, while Carly continued talking. "So, you and Gil enjoy Oakdale so far? We don't see you around town that often." Catherine nodded and said: "I like it here, it's a great town, with nice people." Catherine didn't want to tell any lies to Carly, but she was sure Carly would ask more about her and Gil. "And you and Gil? You two seem to have a good marriage." Catherine's look became icier and Carly immediately apologized. "I'm sorry if I'm going out of line here." "No, no, don't be. It's just…" Carly kind of finished her sentence when she said: "Not the way it's supposed to be?" Catherine put up her lying face again when she said: "I don't know… I know I'm not the wife I should be?" "What do you mean?! You're a gorgeous, sweet woman, what's not to like about a wife like you?" Catherine laughed ironically when she said: "Enough." Something started to daze with Carly when she quietly asked: "Are you… Are you cheating on Gil?" Catherine gave her a sad smile when she said: "I kinda do. Don't judge me, please." "I wouldn't dare. Believe me, I've done enough stupid things to not judge you for yours. Tell me, what happened?" Catherine shrugged. "Not much.. It's just, I'm not feeling for Gil what a wife should feel for her husband. Not anymore. And then I met this guy, the first day we moved here, and there was just a click. He liked me, I liked him. The only problem was that he had a girlfriend and I'm married. He's girlfriend and him are done though. But I can't just tell Gil I'm in love with someone else, not with his burn-out. Besides… How do I know I'm in love with someone after I've been with him for a couple of times?" Carly laughed and said: "Believe me, I understand. I loved Jack from the first moment I saw him. We've been breaking up and getting back together so many times, I lost count. We've been with other people, but we always came back to each other. Love at first sight exists, believe me." Catherine sighed. "I guess. But perhaps it's just a fling, just a little adventure I need. But how am I supposed to tell Gil?" Carly took a sip of her drink and said: "Not. Don't tell him. Not until you've found out what you feel." The women were quiet for a while, until Carly said: "Catherine, I'm sorry for asking, but I'm curious… Who's that man you're in love with?" Catherine smiled when she said: "You know, I want to tell you, but you know the man. You have to promise not to tell anyone about this. Not even Jack." "My lips are sealed." "It's Dusty. Dusty Donovan."


	11. 10

_Note: Whoops, wrong chapter! Sorry! Hope you enjoy this one! x._

**10.**

Catherine and Carly said their goodbyes after forty-five minutes. While Carly went home to do some chores, Catherine had to get back to the station. While Carly was walking over to her house, she was surprised to find out about Catherine and Dusty. Carly was just surprised that Catherine cheated on someone like Gil. They seemed to be the perfect couple. Meanwhile, Catherine was relieved about Carly not judging a woman cheating on her husband. Catherine just wished she could tell Carly the entire truth, the real reason why she was in Oakdale. When she walked to the corner of the street, an arm took hers and pulled her into a dark, quiet corner of the street. It was Dusty. Catherine smiled and said: "I was afraid I wouldn't see you today." Dusty smiled and kissed her. His hands touched her silky soft hair and body while Catherine got lost in the long, passionate kiss he gave her. After they both broke the kiss, Dusty said: "I'm surprised to see you here." "Yeah, Carly came over to the police station and we went to lunch at Al's. I'm supposed to go back though." Catherine looked at her watch and said: "I'm already a couple of minutes late." Dusty grabbed her hand and kissed her again. His kisses made her weak, and they stood in the corner for a while, kissing and touching. After a couple of minutes, Catherine said: "Dusty, I really have to go." Dusty nodded and said: "I understand. Can we see each other tonight?" Catherine shook her head and apologized. "I'm sorry… I promised Gil to have dinner with him." "I understand." Dusty put his hand over his short hair and said: "I hope I'll see you tomorrow though." Catherine smiled. "I'll call you, okay?"

That evening, Gil was waiting for Catherine in the Lakeview. He was happy to spend some time outside of the house with Catherine. A little over five thirty, Catherine rushed into the Lakeview. She wore the same jeans as that morning, and had changed her white blouse for a cute top with a short, leather brown coat. She looked good in it. "Hey Gil!" With a wide smile, she sat down in front of him. He smiled back and said: "So, you had a good day?" Catherine nodded. "Yeah. I received a fax this morning, from Sara, Nick, Warrick, Greg and Jim. They miss us." Gil laughed. "I'll bet they do." After a couple of minutes, when they had a glass of wine in front of them and ordered their food, Catherine said: "I had lunch with Carly today." Gil nodded and said: "You like her, don't you?" Catherine nodded. "Yeah. She's fun. And she's not afraid of people making mistakes. It's just… I hate lying about myself, about who I am, what I do…" Gil nodded and without thinking, he put his hand on hers and said: "I understand. But we have to stay quiet though. You never know who you can trust." Catherine smiled and said: "I know. But she seems to be fine." Gil just nodded and said: "I understand, it's hard to lie. But you know what we do it for." Catherine smiled and grabbed her glass of wine. She liked it when Gil comforted her. When he realized he still had his hand on hers though, he turned a little red, and took it off of hers again. Catherine didn't really notice though. She was doubting about telling Gil about Dusty or not. She was afraid of what he was going to say, but it would be so much easier if he knew. Gil was thinking as well. He wanted to let Catherine know what he felt, but telling a woman he loved her in another way than friends, wasn't his talent at all. So he just said: "Cath… I'm glad we're here, together. I mean, that I'm with you." Catherine smiled, and said: "That's sweet. I'm glad I'm here with you too." Their food arrived and they were quiet for a while, enjoying their food and the other's company.

Meanwhile, Jack was still at the police station. He wasn't able to find a thing about Ric Decker's current position. He'd searched for every single thing he could possibly search for, but it hadn't lead to anything. Jack decided to let Ric Decker rest for a while and get on with his next suspect, James Stenbeck. James was always a suspect when strange things happened. Jack was doubting about this case though. The clues of the murderer had been true so far, but what if the next victim wouldn't be a Oakdale resident? All the attention they were paying on this case would be for nothing. Besides, Jack was determined to find the killer after the work he'd done so far. Jack decided to get home though. Carly and the kids were probably waiting for him, and he needed a relaxing evening. He decided to call Margo first though. She was on call that night, and he wanted to ask her to check stuff about James Stenbeck. Perhaps they would find anything about James' current stay. Although that probably wouldn't happen. Usually, James came and went as fast as he could. He just disappeared. He wasn't sure James could be the killer. He was able to kill, that was for sure. But why killing several random people before coming to Oakdale and kill the person that was probably the first one he wanted to kill? This case was a total mess to Jack.

Paul was in his suite in the Lakeview with Meg, when his head started hurting again. His hand immediately went to his head and Meg said: "Paul, what's going on? Is it happening again?" Paul nodded. He almost fell on his bed when he started seeing images again. While Meg rushed to the bed to comfort Paul, Paul was completely out of the real world. In his head, images of a man started flashing through. First, he saw a man. Than, he saw a gun. And finally, he saw himself. After what seemed to be minutes, but actually were just a couple of seconds, Paul snapped back into reality. His eyes seemed to role out of his head, and Meg got scared when she saw the frightened look on his face.

_Note: Liked it, hated it? x. _


	12. 11

_Note: Hi hi, here's chapter 11! The next chapter will be up soon, and will be a little more case-related again. Let me know what you think of it! x._

**11.**

Catherine woke up very early the next morning. She found Gil lying close to her, what made her smile. These couple of days hadn't been the first couple of days that the two of them woke up together, and Catherine always had to admit that he looked cute when he slept. Even though he still had that puzzled look on his face that he always had. Catherine looked at her alarm clock, that stated that it was just five in the morning. As quiet as she could, she stepped out of the bed and turned off the alarm clock. Gil always woke up when the alarm went off, and she figured he'd like to wake up without the buzzing sound of the alarm clock for once. Catherine took a quick shower and put on her make-up and clothes, and decided to take a little walk around town before breakfast and work. It was only six in the morning when she softly closed the front door of her house and stood outside, where the sun was shining weakly. She was thinking of texting Dusty. She missed him so badly, and all she really wanted, were his hands over her body and his lips touching hers. She figured he'd still be asleep now though, and decided to just enjoy the early morning.

At five that morning, Meg lied in bed next top Paul with her eyes wide open. She hadn't been able to catch her sleep all night. After Paul's vision the evening before, she'd been thinking the entire night. At first, he didn't want to tell her what was going on in his vision, but after a while, he told her what he'd seen. Both couldn't possibly know what it meant, but Meg was scared of what it could possibly mean. She was afraid it meant Paul would get killed, or get involved in some kind of shooting. Meg was scared. She hated these visions Paul had, but at the same time, she wondered what it meant. Why was Paul getting warnings about all these kind of things? What did it mean? That was the question that had kept her busy the entire night.

Catherine arrived at the station that morning at eight sharp. Gil had still been asleep when she came home from her walk, and after she'd fixed herself a simple breakfast, it had been time to go to work. When she entered the station, she figured she could send Dusty a quick message. _Wanna meet during lunchtime? Lakeview, 13.00h? x. _After that, she put her cell phone in her purse and sat down behind her desk. After she'd put on her computer, one of the officers walked up to her and said: "Margo asked me to give these files to you." Catherine smiled and said: "Thank you." It was a whole bunch of paperwork she'd been given, and she was curious to find what was in there. After a couple of minutes, Catherine had pretty much figured out that the first couple of files had been completely useless. There was one file though that grabbed her attention. It had been sent for the crime lab in Las Vegas, containing several knew facts about the killer. Apparently, the video camera on the corner of the street, had some stuff they could use. Not from the murder itself, but from several days earlier. Apparently, their victim had been on the place she'd been murdered a couple of times before she'd been killed. Perhaps, there was something on it they could use. The fax from Vegas said there would be a tape brought to the Oakdale department that same day, that had the films on it that they could possibly use.

Gil woke up late that morning. He was a little disappointed when he saw the bed next to him was empty. After his breakfast, he decided to take a look around town. He figured that perhaps there would be some interesting things to see, and he figured he could stop bye the police station around lunch time, to meet Catherine for lunch. When he arrived at the station though, he saw Catherine's desk was empty. He did spot Jack though, who saw him as well. "Hey, Gil, what's going on?" Gil shrugged a little and said: "Nothing, just wanted to meet Cath for lunch." Jack nodded and said: "I see. Well, she just left. But I need to talk to you, so it's a good thing you're here. Follow me." Jack took Gil to a separated room, and Gil wondered what was going on. He couldn't help but feel bad though, that Catherine was already gone. He wondered where she was. As soon as Jack closed the door, he said: "So, we received some files from Las Vegas yesterday. Catherine has been reading them this morning, and there was one thing in it that was particularly interesting. There are a couple of films, made bye a video camera on the corner. I suggest you read the file. The tape will be delivered this afternoon, and Margo and I will take a look at it then. I want Catherine to take it home, so the two of you can watch it together. I can count on the two of you being discrete with it, can't I?" Gil nodded while he ran through the file and said: "Absolutely."

Catherine rushed into the Lakeview. She was a little late, and she didn't like that. She was only having a one hour break, and an hour seemed so short when she was with Dusty. He'd texted her back that morning. It was –as usual,- a short message, asking her to come to his suite instead of the lounge. And who was Catherine to object to meeting him in a suite? When she knocked on his door, she heard Dusty yell: "Just a second." It took him a while to open the door, something that annoyed Catherine. She hated waiting. When he opened the door, he grabbed her arm immediately and pulled her into his room, where he greeted her with a passionate kiss. When he broke the kiss, Catherine simply said: "Hmmm.. I'd wait more often if that's what I get." Dusty gave her a sly smile and said: "I bet you would." Catherine threw her purse on the couch when she spotted the room service Dusty had ordered. "And what are we having for lunch?" Dusty stepped closer to her and started kissing her lips, nose and forehead. When he reached her ears he whispered: "First, we'll do a little more of this." He softly bit in her ear and kissed her, and then continued. "And then, there's a little surprise for you waiting." Catherine caught herself giggling and whispered: "I'm curious." She kissed him hard on his lips, and when she felt his hands reaching for the button's of her blouse, she softly stirred him towards the bed.

_Note: Liked it, hated? Next chapter will be more Cath/Gil bonding! Please let me know what you think of this one though! x._


	13. 12

_Note: As usual, I hope you enjoy it! x.__  
_

**12.**

That evening, Catherine and Gil watched the tape their co-workers from Las Vegas had sent them. It was dark, and the camera's couldn't give them a very clear view on what was going on. Catherine was surprised it had took her colleagues so long to find the tape. Nick had told her that the video camera that had made the film, was a not-registered camera from the gas station a couple of miles before that corner. They'd installed the camera in case they would be robbed or anything; perhaps the camera could register a car or anything in that case. At this point, it hadn't been any use to the gas station so far. But, hopefully, it would be useful for the police. It was hard to see anything good in the film, but it was obvious that it was a man that was harassing and killing the woman. After a couple of minutes, Catherine said: "Gil, I'm going to see Jack. I want to know if there is anything that they've discovered from this." Catherine stood up and grabbed her coat, and Gil stood up as well. "Cath, you should call him instead. If Carly's home, you can't talk about the case." Catherine sighed. "You're right." She gave him a smile, one that made Gil warm inside and said: "I'm going to call him." He watched her when she walked away. He knew he had to talk to her about his feelings very, very quick. Twenty minutes later, Catherine and Gil were lying in their bed. Jack had told them that he would update them the next morning, and had assured them that there wasn't anything that couldn't wait until the next morning. Catherine had to work early that next morning, so she turned off the lights pretty quick. Gil wanted to tell her about his feelings, but he was still looking for the right moment. This wasn't the right moment though. But he wanted to tell her very, very soon. "Cath… Are you coming home for lunch tomorrow? I'll make you pancakes…" Catherine smiled while she already had her eyes closed. Gil was such a sweetheart. She wanted to call Dusty for lunch, but she figured she could see him later that day. "Sure. I'll be done around one, so I'll be home around that time." They were quiet for a while, and then Catherine said: "Good night, Gil." "Good night, Cath."

Catherine went to the station early that next morning. Jack and her talked about the tape, but both agreed on the fact that there was nothing interesting to see on it. Jack would sent the video to the crime lab, to see if the people there were able to see more on it with the high-tech technology they used. Jack did had some news about the killer's killing patron. Jack and Catherine sat down in one of the interrogation rooms and Jack started talking. "So, there have been people discussing the profile of our killer, to see with what kind of person we're dealing with, since we're pretty clueless at this point. The main thing they discovered, was that our killer probably gets turned on bye the women he kills. These women are a lot younger, and we also found out that all of them have a history in jobs in hospitals or nursing homes. Some of them have worked at a nursing home as a job when they were in high school, some of time worked as a nurse now. It was pretty hard discovering this since it wasn't very clear for some of the victims. The killer missed someone who cared for him when he was young, and wants someone to take care of him know." Catherine shrugged and said: "Then why does he kill them?" Jack sighed. "We don't know. The team is still working on it, but they did made clear to us that the next victim will probably a nurse, or someone who has been in that kind of position." "Are there any people here in Oakdale who are a nurse or a former nurse or anything, and under the age of thirty?" Jack nodded. "There are a lot of them. Including Kate Peretti, my brother's wife, Meg Snyder, my cousin and Alison Stewart, daughter of doctor Stewart." Catherine nodded. "So, what do you suggest?" "I don't know. There are so many young women who can suffice to this description. I don't think there's anything we can possibly do now."

Catherine walked home around one that afternoon. She'd been thinking about Dusty all morning, and she'd been tossing and turning about telling Gil about Dusty. Catherine hated the lies she had to tell Carly and Dusty, but not telling Gil the truth wasn't fair of her at all. Her phone rang, and she recognized Dusty's husky voice immediately. She asked him: "Hey! Where are you now?" . "At Metro. Finishing up some business. When are you free?" "I've finished working already." "When can you meet me?" Catherine smiled. "How about three, my suite?" She heard Dusty cough before he said: "Okay, I'll be there." They said quick goodbyes, and Catherine couldn't wait to see him. When she entered their house, she could smell the scent of fresh pancakes and syrup. She loved it. Catherine entered the kitchen with a smile from ear to ear and said: "Hey you! It smells delicious!" Gil smiled when he saw the beautiful strawberry blonde enter the kitchen. The smile on her face and the joy in her voice, made him happy. "Well, I'm glad to know that. Sit down, it's ready in a minute." Catherine threw her brown leather jacket over the couch, grabbed her cell phone and sat down on one of the chairs. Meanwhile, Gil finished the pancakes and put some fresh orange juice in two big glasses. He wanted to tell Catherine about his feelings, and he was pushing himself to do so in the next hour.

The pancakes were delicious and Catherine enjoyed Gil's company. When she'd almost finished her food, she decided she needed to tell Gil about Dusty. Now. "Gil, I have to tell you something." "Catherine, I need to talk to you." Both laughed, and both were nervous. Gil was pleased to hear Catherine wanted to talk to him. And he didn't mind her talking first, since his nerves were getting over him. "You go first, Cath." Catherine smiled. "Okay, well. It's perhaps kinda.. God, I don't know. Gil, I really hate lying to the people I like in this town, but I hate lying to you even more, so I have to tell you this. I… I met someone. And, I think…. I think I'm in love." Gil was stunned. This was something he hadn't expected at all, but he immediately knew it was Dusty. "You've fallen in love?" Catherine nodded. "And perhaps it's lame, or stupid, since I hope we'll be out of this place as soon as possible. But I like him. I like Dusty a lot."


End file.
